"..and upon each man will bear the mark of the beast.."
-- or something like that.. see: bible
"..the mark! They are going to put an ID on each persons' hand.."
-- or something like that.. see: Naked (movie)
"The mark is on everything.. the UPC symbol! Doesn't the bible say something that without the mark people won't be able to buy, sell or trade? It's the UPC symbol!"
-- or something like that.. see: not sure where that came from
"How could they steal your identity?"
-- or something like that... See: The Net
"Never give out any information"
-- or something like that... See: mama
"First!!!"
-- or something like that... See: Anonymous Coward
Seeing how I just had to drop off a check in the mailbox today, I don't think USPS is in any trouble. Yes, you can pay bills online, but I MUCH prefer writing a check and mailing it off. Besides, is there any other way with a credit card company? What are you going to do.. give them a credit card number? I don't give my bank account information to ANYTHING. It's a like a social security number. If you don't REALLY need it, then you're not even sniffing it. --
The consoles have always exploited the best that home PCs had to offer in the way of graphics and sound. An Atari 5200 was equivalent to an Atari 400, the NES seemed on par with the C64, etc. It seems, however, that you can just throw in a Voodoo2 SLI or TNT/TNT2 in your machine and match what the consoles can produce.
Only one problem.. the PCs set up properly cost 4 times as much as a console. However, the cartridges (am I dated this way?;-) typically cost at least 15-25% more than the PC version.
I haven't bought a console in years. It'll take something serious to get me to buy into that game again. --
I look at the chair and can only think of one thing: the size GUT that you could grow sitting in that thing all day.
I believe one of the worst things about being a geek is that you have ample opportunity to become fat. Sitting on your tuchus all day doesn't help, and this thing looks like you exert NO energy; at least in a regular chair you shift around once in a while or cross your legs (the 0.0001 calories that burns)..
Still, if someone wants to send me a free sample of one of those chairs, please UPS to..... --
I have been using a Palm III for over a year now, and I run my (work) life by it. The 2MB limitation has never been an issue; I have over 1000 appointment records and 200+ contacts stored in the thing, numerous games (c'mon..) and it seems that the only way that I can approach the limit of my memory is by using Avant Go (a 'download now, view on the train' web browser) and loading quite a bit of web pages (and images).
I recently had the opportunity to upgrade to a Palm V for free (someone in my office.. yadda yadda yadda), but after some thought I realized that the only benefit I would really be getting would be the new LCD screen. Yes, the new screen is fantastic, but not worth the hassle of lugging the cradle around on business trips (for recharging purposes). The Palm V is really cool, so don't get me wrong. I'd like to have one, but I find that the Palm III* series is the most rugged and portable (read: batteries VS recharge) of the series. The only thing I didn't like originally was the flip-top cover, but I've found that it is actually a great thing to have (and makes a nice closing 'snap' if you do it right;-)
In summary, the IIIe is cheaper, has the better LCD screen and limits you to 2MB. The memory isn't a problem, and the screen is a definate plus. I think this is a fine product for those who aren't going to try and run Linux on it. --
Unfortunately, no PalmPilot other than the Palm V use power supplied by the cradle. The Palm V has a NiCd rechargable battery inside it (no AAA's) which is part of the reason why it is so thin. --
Sounds almost like the cell phone companies are going to have to go the way of tobacco companies with their tests and research into the hazards of cigarette smoking. However, we can only hope that the cell phone companies will have a better sense of responsibility for whats going on.
Come to think of it, I have always hated cell phones for two reasons: 1) people are usually STUPID when they're using cell phones (read: driving or just not paying attention to what is going on around them) and 2) because it has been known for years that they're not good for your head. Unfortunately, I just picked up my first phone last December, and I have used it a total of two hours in the last 6 months (which doesn't really put me at much risk, I suppose). However, sometimes I carry the thing around in my pocket turned on (I almost always leave it on, though VERY few have the number). I wonder if this thing will make me sterile? I know that regardless of use, these devices are constantly "pinging" the radio towers (go to http://www.howstuffworks.com to read about cell phones and what they do).
Oh well. We'll see a new form of brain tumor in another 15-20 years, I guess.
Without a doubt they were the one company that did more about making the Apple ][ fun than any other. I still have a bunch of Beagle Bros. disks and manuals at home.. I should really scan some stuff and put it online (providing there are no legal issues these days).
And yes, I rememeber the quote about the Apple I. I believe one of the women that worked at the company had recently purchased one for $10,000.. That was around 1986? I don't believe that the price increase is that far off, yet. I figure within another 20 years the price of one (given the current value of money) will reach at least $200,000. Apple does pretty much get credit for starting the computing revolution (read: home and small business), so this icon sure deserves the price tag.
While I'd like to see this company go public, I don't know if it is going to draw much attention to the operating system. I mean that in the way that it is going to ride the initial hype wave of "Look! It's another dot-com!" and the price will jump. Most people on Wall St. don't know much about technology, and the analysts probably are going to just look at what their e-commerce potential is. I don't see the BeOS as much of an internet strategy, and that is what the street craves currently. Yes, BeOS is quite a good technology, but consider this: What is better, the 3Dfx Voodoo chipset or the TNT? 3Dfx is the one in the market's favor right now, despite the fact that the TNT actually shows more promise right now.
The street is going to jump on it initially, because everyone is looking for that technology stock that is going to make them rich. However, once they realize that it is an operating system company competing with Microsoft and that the market share is relatively low, the price will drop back down. If you want to short, this probably is a good one to do;-)
Slashdump(verb; slASH-duHmp) What happens when the article link provided is malformed HTML and confuses your browser.
Is it really that bad without Hemos?;-)
Nightmares of Bloom County and Donald Trump
on
Web Sites Shut Down
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· Score: 1
April fools or not, I can't help but to remember something so strangely related: Bloom County and Donald Trump.
For those who need a little catching up here, back in the 80's there was a comic strip by Berke Breathed called Bloom County. You know, Bill the Cat, Opus the Penguin, Milo, Oliver, Steve Dallas, etc. One of the funniest comic strips I ever enjoyed. The strip was obviously the model for User Friendly as the characters and drawing style of Iliad is all too similar; the style of drawing humans and the "newspaper clipping" pictures hanging on the wall are most of it. Not that I'm throwing any stones at Iliad for this, I actually quite enjoy that style and I'm glad that it is being used for a strip that I like.
Around 1989 or 1990, Donald Trump was in the peak of his popularity. On the cover of every magazine and newspaper out there as one of the richest men in America, he was quite a target, much like Bill Gates and Microsoft is today. Mr. Breathed, like any good satirist, took this opportunity to make a lot of people laugh at (of course) Mr. Trump's expense. Many public figures in the past have been subject to such ridicule, but Donald Trump aparently didn't have much of a sense of security or humor. Mr. Trump, in an effort to end this "public humiliation" (like it really was hurting his business) decided to buy out the syndicate which controlled Bloom County (United Feature Syndicate? can't quite remember) and told Mr. Breathed that he had two weeks to shut down the strip.
I say that there is quite a similarity here in situations. Bloom County was a hard hitting humorous comic strip that poked fun at the richest man in America. Donald Trump was an extremely wealthy and powerful businessman in America that had the ability to push (or buy) people out of business. User Friendly is a hard hitting humorous comic strip (and strikingly similar resemblence to Bloom County, not that there's anything wrong with that from my perspective) that is poking fun at the richest man in America. Bill Gates (and thus Microsoft) are one of the most powerful entities in the corporate world that has the ability to push (or buy) people out of the business.
Are we seeing something now?
<RANTNRAVE> My feeling is that this disgusts me. Freedom of speech is one of the things that makes this country great. Capitalism is also another great thing, and I have to give some respect to Microsoft in that light (all personal feelings aside- please, I'm a Linux user myself, and I am not instigating ANYTHING towards pro or con Microsoft here). Other people and companies get similar treatment every day and most people can take a joke. Yes, what is said in the comic strip may be on a different plane than a typical personal attack (since it deals with a corporation), but isn't it the same? A corporation and a person are treated somewhat as similar entities in business law, so how can a corporation get away with this obvious bending of the first amendment?
I guess the answer would be lawyers; they can tie someone up in legal proceedings that, regardless of fault, can cause the victim to lose valuable time and/or money trying to claim their innocence. (see: McDonalds case from London about 3 years ago; innocent protestors in front of a store ended up in a long and way overblown legal battle for something which they were completely in their rights to do, but the lawyers of a huge corporation were able to make it hurt). </RANTNRAVE>
Well, I guess I'm getting a little more emotional here that necessary, but I think I said what I intended to say. Flame away...
Actually, I was thinking about this recently. I have now acquired a Philips Velo 1 (older WinCE machine, 16MB ram, MIPS 4000, B&W wide screen w/keyboard and pen). I can even attach a PCMCIA card to this, so I can use an ethernet adapter, and this thing has a built in 9600bps modem. Yes, it may be slow or bulky or not the latest hardware, but I can't beat the price I got it for (free). Now if I could only wipe WinCE off this thing, it might be semi-usable.
I still prefer my PalmPilot, but I would be interested in attempting to develop Linux for it.
Glad I can now print to my printer via TCP/IP. Yup. Haven't been doing that for the last decade.
Actually, a nice standard would be good, but what is bothering me is that Microsoft is going to use this as another reason for people to go to Windows 2000. Uhm.. simple driver, no?
I say 'Cheap' because I've never seen it cost more than $50. I say 'Generic' because I have seen the same exact keyboard with 20 different name plates on it.
The way to identify this one is that it has three buttons above the spacebar between the split; a 'mouse' button, a tab and backspace (This is where MS put the three lights). There is also a Macintosh-like "power" key in the top right corner (a left-pointing triangle).
I have seen this with and without a touch-pad, and I have even seen the wrist rest in white and gray colors. I own the one with the touch pad (never use it) and the white wrist rest. This keyboard is AWESOME. Durable, reliable, and quite comfortable. I highly recommend it. You should be able to find it at most large computer stores (eg: Comp USA)
While I will agree that the Commodore manuals (yes, even through the Amiga years) were excellent for their technical resources, I MUST mention the manuals which came with the Apple ][ and Apple ][+ computers. Three, to be exact.
General users manual - says it all. Nothing much to techies.
Applesoft Programmers Manual - originally the Integer basic manual, but this is what I learned programming with from 1980-1983.
Apple ][ Technical Reference Manual - Now this is what I'm talking about. Not only did it give you pinouts and enough information to build a card for the darn thing, but it gave you a fold out SCHEMATIC of the motherboard! I still have this on my bookshelf at home. Nothing will ever come close to this out of a home computer box.
My two cents.
Remember, Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM
on
IBM/Red Hat Continues
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· Score: 1
Today in the Wall Street Journal, this news appeared just below the Microsoft trial news for the day. Yes, Linux was written in big print and so were the words IBM.
Remember, Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM
As a side note, the WSJ has been a good source for following the DOJ trial.
Slashdot Mirror
"..the mark! They are going to put an ID on each persons' hand.."
"The mark is on everything.. the UPC symbol! Doesn't the bible say something that without the mark people won't be able to buy, sell or trade? It's the UPC symbol!"
"How could they steal your identity?"
"Never give out any information"
"First!!!"
--
Seeing how I just had to drop off a check in the mailbox today, I don't think USPS is in any trouble. Yes, you can pay bills online, but I MUCH prefer writing a check and mailing it off. Besides, is there any other way with a credit card company? What are you going to do.. give them a credit card number? I don't give my bank account information to ANYTHING. It's a like a social security number. If you don't REALLY need it, then you're not even sniffing it.
--
Only one problem.. the PCs set up properly cost 4 times as much as a console. However, the cartridges (am I dated this way? ;-) typically cost at least 15-25% more than the PC version.
I haven't bought a console in years. It'll take something serious to get me to buy into that game again.
--
I believe one of the worst things about being a geek is that you have ample opportunity to become fat. Sitting on your tuchus all day doesn't help, and this thing looks like you exert NO energy; at least in a regular chair you shift around once in a while or cross your legs (the 0.0001 calories that burns)..
Still, if someone wants to send me a free sample of one of those chairs, please UPS to.....
--
I recently had the opportunity to upgrade to a Palm V for free (someone in my office.. yadda yadda yadda), but after some thought I realized that the only benefit I would really be getting would be the new LCD screen. Yes, the new screen is fantastic, but not worth the hassle of lugging the cradle around on business trips (for recharging purposes). The Palm V is really cool, so don't get me wrong. I'd like to have one, but I find that the Palm III* series is the most rugged and portable (read: batteries VS recharge) of the series. The only thing I didn't like originally was the flip-top cover, but I've found that it is actually a great thing to have (and makes a nice closing 'snap' if you do it right ;-)
In summary, the IIIe is cheaper, has the better LCD screen and limits you to 2MB. The memory isn't a problem, and the screen is a definate plus. I think this is a fine product for those who aren't going to try and run Linux on it.
--
Unfortunately, no PalmPilot other than the Palm V use power supplied by the cradle. The Palm V has a NiCd rechargable battery inside it (no AAA's) which is part of the reason why it is so thin.
--
Come to think of it, I have always hated cell phones for two reasons: 1) people are usually STUPID when they're using cell phones (read: driving or just not paying attention to what is going on around them) and 2) because it has been known for years that they're not good for your head. Unfortunately, I just picked up my first phone last December, and I have used it a total of two hours in the last 6 months (which doesn't really put me at much risk, I suppose). However, sometimes I carry the thing around in my pocket turned on (I almost always leave it on, though VERY few have the number). I wonder if this thing will make me sterile? I know that regardless of use, these devices are constantly "pinging" the radio towers (go to http://www.howstuffworks.com to read about cell phones and what they do).
Oh well. We'll see a new form of brain tumor in another 15-20 years, I guess.
And yes, I rememeber the quote about the Apple I. I believe one of the women that worked at the company had recently purchased one for $10,000.. That was around 1986? I don't believe that the price increase is that far off, yet. I figure within another 20 years the price of one (given the current value of money) will reach at least $200,000. Apple does pretty much get credit for starting the computing revolution (read: home and small business), so this icon sure deserves the price tag.
Pope: "Both of them?"
(my two cents)
Actually, I think it looks a lot more like the logo for Sybase than anything else. Compare again with the Debian logo if you need.
The street is going to jump on it initially, because everyone is looking for that technology stock that is going to make them rich. However, once they realize that it is an operating system company competing with Microsoft and that the market share is relatively low, the price will drop back down. If you want to short, this probably is a good one to do ;-)
Is it really that bad without Hemos? ;-)
For those who need a little catching up here, back in the 80's there was a comic strip by Berke Breathed called Bloom County. You know, Bill the Cat, Opus the Penguin, Milo, Oliver, Steve Dallas, etc. One of the funniest comic strips I ever enjoyed. The strip was obviously the model for User Friendly as the characters and drawing style of Iliad is all too similar; the style of drawing humans and the "newspaper clipping" pictures hanging on the wall are most of it. Not that I'm throwing any stones at Iliad for this, I actually quite enjoy that style and I'm glad that it is being used for a strip that I like.
Around 1989 or 1990, Donald Trump was in the peak of his popularity. On the cover of every magazine and newspaper out there as one of the richest men in America, he was quite a target, much like Bill Gates and Microsoft is today. Mr. Breathed, like any good satirist, took this opportunity to make a lot of people laugh at (of course) Mr. Trump's expense. Many public figures in the past have been subject to such ridicule, but Donald Trump aparently didn't have much of a sense of security or humor. Mr. Trump, in an effort to end this "public humiliation" (like it really was hurting his business) decided to buy out the syndicate which controlled Bloom County (United Feature Syndicate? can't quite remember) and told Mr. Breathed that he had two weeks to shut down the strip.
I say that there is quite a similarity here in situations.
Bloom County was a hard hitting humorous comic strip that poked fun at the richest man in America. Donald Trump was an extremely wealthy and powerful businessman in America that had the ability to push (or buy) people out of business.
User Friendly is a hard hitting humorous comic strip (and strikingly similar resemblence to Bloom County, not that there's anything wrong with that from my perspective) that is poking fun at the richest man in America. Bill Gates (and thus Microsoft) are one of the most powerful entities in the corporate world that has the ability to push (or buy) people out of the business.
Are we seeing something now?
<RANTNRAVE>
My feeling is that this disgusts me. Freedom of speech is one of the things that makes this country great. Capitalism is also another great thing, and I have to give some respect to Microsoft in that light (all personal feelings aside- please, I'm a Linux user myself, and I am not instigating ANYTHING towards pro or con Microsoft here). Other people and companies get similar treatment every day and most people can take a joke. Yes, what is said in the comic strip may be on a different plane than a typical personal attack (since it deals with a corporation), but isn't it the same? A corporation and a person are treated somewhat as similar entities in business law, so how can a corporation get away with this obvious bending of the first amendment?
I guess the answer would be lawyers; they can tie someone up in legal proceedings that, regardless of fault, can cause the victim to lose valuable time and/or money trying to claim their innocence. (see: McDonalds case from London about 3 years ago; innocent protestors in front of a store ended up in a long and way overblown legal battle for something which they were completely in their rights to do, but the lawyers of a huge corporation were able to make it hurt).
</RANTNRAVE>
Well, I guess I'm getting a little more emotional here that necessary, but I think I said what I intended to say. Flame away...
I still prefer my PalmPilot, but I would be interested in attempting to develop Linux for it.
Actually, a nice standard would be good, but what is bothering me is that Microsoft is going to use this as another reason for people to go to Windows 2000. Uhm.. simple driver, no?
Wonder if it will work with my old daisy wheel :-)
The way to identify this one is that it has three buttons above the spacebar between the split; a 'mouse' button, a tab and backspace (This is where MS put the three lights). There is also a Macintosh-like "power" key in the top right corner (a left-pointing triangle).
I have seen this with and without a touch-pad, and I have even seen the wrist rest in white and gray colors. I own the one with the touch pad (never use it) and the white wrist rest. This keyboard is AWESOME. Durable, reliable, and quite comfortable. I highly recommend it. You should be able to find it at most large computer stores (eg: Comp USA)
My two cents.
Remember, Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM
As a side note, the WSJ has been a good source for following the DOJ trial.